Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.    

Ms N.P. writes: I have been made aware of your article about bonds recommended by Nicholas James Finance. 

The same people also sold investments in whisky casks from Boann Distillery, and we are trying to determine whether this is also a scam.

NJF appears to be registered at Companies House, but I cannot find a record of them with the Financial Conduct Authority.

Tony Hetherington replies: I reported two weeks ago on the marketing of high-risk loan bonds by Nicholas James Finance (NJF), which is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

Legally, it can offer these company IOUs only to investors who need no protection because they are experienced enough to judge the risks or wealthy enough to stand a complete wipeout. The evidence is that NJF unlawfully sold these bonds to investors who were neither experienced nor wealthy, and the FCA is now investigating.

I ended by saying that my own enquiries were still going on. Here is what I have uncovered.

As well as selling bonds with false marketing claims, it also sells investment casks of whisky with false marketing claims.

You were contacted by NJF salesman Charles Griffin, who told you to expect an average annual return of 10 to 12 per cent from whisky. He added: 'All purchases are made through Whisky&Co, one of the leading whisky cask distributors and wholesalers in the United Kingdom.'

What he did not add is that Whisky&Co is owned and run by Ashley Wilkinson, who also owns and runs NJF.

According to its website at whiskyco.co.uk: 'The demand for whisky has far exceeded the supply, rendering it a highly profitable investment. Your casks will be stored in a HMRC bonded warehouse.' Your sales agreement goes even further, promising that 'your casks will be stored under bond at HMRC approved distilleries in Scotland.'

You might have thought from this sales pitch that Wilkinson's company was offering Scotch whisky. In fact, it sells casks of Irish whiskey. The spelling is different but, more significantly, casks are not stored in Scotland, but in the Republic of Ireland, where HM Revenue & Customs has no jurisdiction and no powers.

You invested £18,500, which got you five bourbon casks from Boann Distillery in County Meath. However, the distillery says the price for five casks is about £16,250.

Whisky&Co has not explained the difference, so presumably that's its rake-off.

Your purchase agreement says each cask holds about 225 litres, the distillery says 200 litres – that is some difference in what you get for your money!

Whisky&Co's sales brochure says it 'has strong relationships with some of the most active auction houses, such as Bonhams, in the whisky industry'.

Bonhams, a famous auction house, has whisky experts and does hold whisky auctions, but it told me: 'Bonhams does not have a relationship with Whisky&Co. We will look into this further.'

I put all this to Ashley Wilkinson. He failed to answer a single question, offer a single comment or explain his false claims.

I contacted Boann Distillery, and Sally-Anne Cooney – a member of the family that owns it – told me: 'Whisky&Co Ltd is one of the companies that we have a trading relationship with, and they are wholly responsible for their own marketing.'

The bottom line is that you have invested £18,500 on the basis of false claims. You could sue Whisky&Co to cancel the contract, but the company may not have the money to repay you – its 2024 accounts show it is worth minus £312,948. So you may be stuck with the whiskey, and can just hope for the best about ten years from now when it has matured.

For anyone who might still be tempted by Wilkinson and his salesmen, their bonds and their barrels, I recommend a bargepole. A very big bargepole.

3 years to cancel Three's broadband

Ms R.E. writes: In 2020 I took out a broadband contract with Three. 

In 2022 I moved house and cancelled it, but recently I discovered I was still paying a direct debit to Three.

I rang and was told to cancel my payments and it would investigate, but next I received an email saying my query has been closed.

Tony Hetherington replies: You called Three again, and when you asked whether you would be repaid for the payments made over the past 30 months, your call was put on hold before the line went dead.

Soon afterwards an email from Three said it had not received the latest month's payment. You explained you had cancelled the account, but Three replied that you had to give 30 days notice and it expected payment for those 30 days.

I asked Three to look into this. Its cancellation process is not simple – you might need a code to switch to another provider, a different code to cancel altogether and so on. 

Three told me: 'We have no record of Ms E's request to close her account in 2022. We apologise for the difficulty Ms E has experienced but have now come to a mutual resolution.' Three confirmed your account has not been used since April 2022, and it has now repaid you £787.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email [email protected]. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.